Second Edition News for May 12, 2001Recent results and new features Postal riders recovering; Casey agent considers legal actionThe US Postal Service team has seen two riders go down in the Four Days of Dunkirk and head off to hospital, with French sprinter Stephane Barthe injured in a finish-line tangle, adding to Dylan Casey's encounter with a TV soundman in the first stage. Both riders were seriously injured - Barthe with multiple fractures of his left arm and Casey with a broken pelvis and broken clavicle. In the fourth stage from Fontaine-au-Pire to Saint-Venant, the French sprinter Barthe was towards the front of the field in the sprint to the line when he touched wheels and crashed into the barriers on his left side. Eleven other riders were involved and according to assistant team director sportif Dirk Demol, Barthe "hit the barriers at full speed, nearly 70 kph. It was a very serious crash, one of the worst I have seen." Barthe was taken to a hospital in nearby Bethune and underwent immediate surgery.
Meanwhile, the agent of his team-mate Dylan Casey is considering legal action against French television Channel 3, which is covering the stage race in northern France. Casey was taken to a hospital in Hazebrouck, France, where it was announced he had suffered a broken pelvis and broken clavicle. Casey's agent Clay Young, president of Sotox Sports Management, said "athletes need to be respected by those who invade the racing arena." That respect may come in the form of a lawsuit. Young said Sotox is weighing all its options and that he has conferred with its lawyer about the possible ramifications of Casey's injuries. "The soundman did not have any business being in the middle of the race course," alleged Sotox counsel Kevin Hickey. "We'll have more of a handle on our next course of action after we have talked with representatives from the television station." Young has contacted Channel 3 and plans to meet with representatives from the station in the next couple of days. "Much of what happens next hinges on Channel 3 and their willingness to listen to our concerns," Young said. Casey discovered that humans make pretty dangerous obstacles. Following the conclusion of the 164.8 kilometer stage from Dunkirk to Steenvoorde, just over the French border in Belgium, Casey, part of the second group of riders to finish the stage, rode straight into the soundman - who was standing in the middle of the road - at near full speed. "In the last few kilometers, I began to lose contact with the main peloton because of the cross winds," Casey said. "I was finishing as hard as I could as I was trying to limit my losses for the overall. I was on the left side of the road when I crossed the line and as I started to slow down, I saw a cameraman with his back to me standing in the middle of the road. I moved to the left to avoid him and he took two steps to the left and I went right into him. I was either going to hit him or the barriers." Leontien puts one over MarioHolland's triple Olympic gold medalist Leontien van Moorsel was faster than male riders such as Mario Cipollini during the Memorial Magali Pache, an individual time trial (ITT) on the same parcours as the Tour de Romandie. With her time of 34.57 for the 25.5km, van Moorsel would be in 104th position if she were in the men's field, more than two seconds faster than Mario Cipollini (106). Asked about her time, van Moorsel said: "Not so bad for me in relation to such a rich guy. Can I get such a salary too?" The Dutch rider was 22 seconds faster than second-placed Diana Ziliute and 32 seconds on Jeannie Longo. This Memorial was held in memory of Swiss rider Magali Pache, who died on September 3 last year when she was struck by a car while riding back to her hotel following stage six of the Trophée d'Or Féminin in France. The car also collided with her team director's car. Two others were injured: Irishwoman Geraldine Gilles and Englishwoman Michaela Fisher. The driver of the vehicle was arrested and taken to Saint-Amand-Montrond police station. In the memorial event, the father of Magali followed the race in the
car of team manager and van Moorsel's husband, Michael Zijlaard. Recent results and new features on cyclingnews |
